Update 3/12/09: It has been brought to my attention that Rose was rather horrified by the mention of tights in the context of this post. Fergal has admitted that he may have been deluded on this point – after all, he had never made boxty himself – and I believe that it is Rose’s view that tights would not be used in this way in modern civilised society. Apologies, Rose – the post has been amended to reflect this view.

“You’ll need tights,” said Fergal (though, as you may have gathered, he was ultimately mistaken on this point).

“Er, ‘scuse me…?”

We were arranging a visit to Fergal’s mammy, Rose, for a boxty-making session. Fergal, as it turns out, was referring not to a dress code for the visit (phew), but to the tights one might (or, as it turns out, might not) use to squeeze grated raw potato – boxty’s principal ingredient.

It had been many months since I first heard my friend Fergal wax lyrical about his mammy’s boxty and I had been pestering him for the recipes ever since. While boxty is a very traditional Irish potato dish, it is not something that was ever made in my family, and remained a significant gap in my potato repertoire. This was my chance to get the low-down on same from a native of Leitrim, where boxty is big.

Rose demonstrates just how boxty is done

The first thing you need to know is that there are many different forms of said boxty: Rose herself makes three – boxty on the pan, boxty in the oven and boxty dumplings – and it was a delight and a privilege to watch an Irish mammy in action, making boxty on the pan just as her own mammy would have done.

I saw the potatoes being very finely grated and squeezed to remove a surprising amount of liquid (Rose keeps a small linen bag specifically for the purpose, so no need to break out the emergency supply of tights (again phew) – and I now know that Rose would have been aghast if I had done so). A little buttermilk added, then a tiny sprinkling of sugar, salt and a small scoop of flour, some bread soda mixed with a little milk, all stirred together to form a thick batter. Spoonfuls cooked up on a hot buttered pan until golden on both sides and eaten with yet more butter and, traditionally, some bacon.

It’s like a chewier version of a potato cake and is equally simple, uncomplicated fare that harks back to Rose’s early life on a farm in the 40’s and 50’s, when the spuds came from their winter store of kerr’s pinks, the buttermilk was the by-product of the butter they churned and the bacon was home-cured.

When I later made some boxty for myself, I was, of course, tempted to add in all sorts of things and I have no doubt that, in due course, I will. But for my first time out, I kept it simple and made it exactly as Rose had done. Nothing required to enjoy it other than butter, and lots of it. Simple is good. Simple with lots of butter is even better.

Boxty On The Pan

When Rose made her boxty, everything was done by eye. The measurements below are based on what I used when I got back to my own kitchen to make a batch. The amounts are approximate and the results will vary somewhat with the type of potatoes used and how much liquid you manage to extract from them.

For the amounts given, you should end up with a thick batter – one which doesn’t spread on the pan – and you shape and flatten the mixture on the pan to your desired thickness. You could also add more buttermilk and make thinner, more crepe-like boxty pancakes.

You’ll also need:

A grater or food processor with an attachment for doing very fine grating, plus either a few sheets of muslin, an old, clean pillow case, a pair of clean tights or a clean tea towel, in which to place the grated potatoes so that you can squeeze them out.

The Steps:

Place the grated potato in a large mixing bowl and pour over the buttermilk. This will help to prevent discolouration of the potatoes.

Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl and stir to combine – you should end up with a very thick batter. Mix the bread soda with a little milk and stir that into the potato mixture. [Alternatively, you could whisk the flour, salt, sugar and bread soda together very well in a separate bowl and then add that in directly]

Place a heavy frying pan over a medium high heat. Add some butter and allow to melt.

To check the mixture for salt, spoon a small amount of the mixture onto the pan, flatten into a thick-ish round (about 0.5cm thick or so) and fry for around 3-4 minutes on either side or until nicely browned. Taste the sample and add more salt to the remaining potato mixture if you wish.

Cook the rest of the boxty in the same way, making the individual pieces large or small, as you wish.

Serve with plenty of butter and, yeah, probably some bacon (or honey, if you’re in the humour for something sweet).

The Variations:

Of course there’s plenty that you could add by way of flavouring here. I fancy substituting grated apple for some of the potato or maybe throwing in a large, non-traditional handful of grated parmesan.

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Boxty In The Oven

For this version, make the potato mixture exactly as per the recipe above. Then place the mixture in a 2-pint loaf tin or cast-iron casserole / dutch oven, lined with parchment paper, and bake at 200C for about an hour, until lightly golden on top and fairly firm to the touch. This is allowed to cool, then sliced and fried in butter – my own preference is for very thin slices. This loaf should keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, during which time you can slice and fry at will. I will be making boxty this way again, of that there is no doubt.

Boxty Dumplings

For these, I know only that Rose uses about half and half grated raw potato and boiled mashed potato, mixed with flour and a little salt. The mixture is kneaded and shaped into large dumplings, about the size of a small saucer, and boiled for 45 minutes or so. I think I will need another session with Rose to see these boxty dumplings made at first hand, Leitrim-style.

Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe and post, Spud. I’m promised myself I’d try my hand at making boxty this year for St. Paddy’s day (if not before) and this is a wonderful primer. I can’t wait to try it!

Well so far everything that came to mind was said already…but I will say that I would eat as many as I could, and give her a big ‘Thank You’ as I left…I will be trying this and always add a little cookappeal twist :)

I want boxty! I was getting set to make your leek potato cake but now this bit of deliciousness comes along. Mmmmm . . . buttered and bacon’d – that would hit the spot. Many thanks to Rose for sharing her technique!

The Boxty loaf is a definite winner. I got to share in the experimental loaf and it’s great to know there is something handy in the fridge that’s quick to fix, tasty and filling. I paired it up with the traditional bacon on one occasion, with salad on another, and with goat’s cheese and cranberry sauce on yet another.

I love boxty and cannot wait to make some soon – I hope. Unfortunately or fortunately we’re moving soon, so my cooking will be severely limited the next few weeks. Luckily we’re going to end up on Clement St closer to a lot of my favortie restaurants. Your recipe looks divine.

How interesting. I had not heard of it yet – feel such a fool. I just loved that you put the 3 different ways here. I have a constant excess of potatoes in my pantry. I have got some ideas now.If i were to make too much of the mixture and if I were unable to use it all up on the same day, would it be ok to keep it in the fridge till next day? Might sound a silly question.

Hey Valentina – don’t feel a fool at all – there are many people in Ireland who have never had boxty! And your question is not a bit silly. I think the batter is probably better used when it is fairly fresh, rather than being kept overnight. If you do make a lot of batter then you could try making the pancakes and then freezing the excess once they’ve cooled. You could also bake the batter as a loaf in the oven, which should then keep in the fridge for around 5 days, or you could slice it up and try freezing the slices.

I gotto make Boxty For 100 people next week, we used t make it by grateing large peeled raw potatoes with graters made from old bean cans and holed by 4 inch nails,rub the spuds over the rough side and try not to add too much blood off your knuckles, to the pulp add salt and plain flour, nothing else; fry in a hot pan with bacon lard for 2 mins each side then add knob butter, good t go. nowadays i cheat and use a liquidiser to pulp the spuds, much easier. x

Hi Paul, thanks for the enquiry! I’d be inclined not to store the batter for too long in the fridge – I would tend to cook it on the day its made (I suspect that it could start to ferment if left for too long).

What you can do, for example though, is to cook the batter as a loaf (the ‘Boxty in the Oven’) described above. Once cooled, that loaf can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days, and you can cut slices from it and fry them up as needed. Alternatively, you could try baking the loaf and then, once completely cooled, cut into slices and freeze – then remove from the freezer as needed and fry (I haven’t tried this with boxty loaf, but I have frozen uncooked potato cakes, and that worked pretty well, so I think it’s worth a try).

Just returned from holiday in Ireland, made 5 trips there and first time having Boxty ( Bricían restaurant & Boxty House in Killarney) Couldn’t wait to come home & try it myself. Thanks for this great recipe/lesson #notightsinboxty